NIIT University (NU) has partnered with Fractal, an enterprise AI company that builds its own AI models, platforms and products for Fortune 500® organizations, to improve the teaching of AI and Analytics by combining academic learning with real-world experience with an industry-focused approach. The partnership will focus on developing an AI & Analytics Centre of Excellence (CoE), integrating industry technologies and datasets into student projects and creating opportunities for internships, industry practice and placements. The CoE will focus on scalable AI infrastructure, generative AI, agentic AI and real-world industry applications, providing a platform for students and faculty to engage in emerging AI technologies and gain hands-on experience with real industry datasets and exposure to machine learning, deep learning and responsible AI. The collaboration will introduce students to Fractal’s Cogentiq platform, which supports multi-agent AI assistants and enterprise automation, with selected NU faculty members providing academic guidance and Fractal experts offering technical guidance as students work on industry aligned and industry sponsored projects. Students in the third year of the B.Tech. program will have the opportunity to work on capstone projects based on the business and technology needs of Fractal, such as agent interoperability frameworks, cross-system orchestration, enterprise AI workflows, large language model (LLM) gateways, and related applications. Prof. Prakash Gopalan, President, NIIT University, said industry collaboration is a key element in getting students ready for the changing demands of the workplace, and Prof. Debopam Ach